Magazine structure for dispensing devices



L. STEINER MAGAZINE STRUCTURE OR DISPENSING DEVICES Feb. 12, 1952 6Shets-Sheet 1 Filed may 16, 1946 mmvrmm Louis Steiner ,4 Tram/EV L.STEINER 2,585,872

MAGAZINE STRUCTURE FOR DISPENSING DEVICES 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

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Feb. 12, 1952 Filed May 16, 1946 Feb. 12, 1952 s N R 2,585,872

I MAGAZINE STRUCTURE FOR DISPENSING DEVICES Filed May 16, 1946 6Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 6

lnnnnn I INVBVTOR. BY lozzis J6 ez'ner Feb. 12, 1952 L. STEINER2,535,872

MAGAZINE STRUCTURE FOR DISPENSING DEVICES Filed May 16, 1946 v 6Sheets-Sheet 4 mmau rill,

INVENTOR. By LouzsSfejner ATTORNEY Feb. 12, 1952 STEINER 2,585,872

MAGAZINE STRUCTURE FOR DISPENSING DEVICES Filed May 16, 1946 5 6Sheets-Sheet s j zlq. 10

INVENTOR. B l OLZIS J zfezner ,4 Tram/EV Patented Feb. 12,1952

MAGAZINE STRUCTURE FOR DISPENSING DEVICES Louis Steiner, Rockaway Park,N. Y.

Application May 16, 1946, Serial No. 670,134

Claims.

This invention relates to dispensing devices. It

is particularly related to a dispensing device including means tosupport a pair of columns of articles to be dispensed, and a singledispensing mechanism so arranged as to dispense articles from onecolumn, and when said column is depleted to a predetermined extent, thearticles from the other columns are automatically shifted to augment thefirst column so that said latter articles may be dispensed by saiddispensing mechanism.

An object of this invention is to provide in a device of the characterdescribed, highly improved means for shifting the articles in thereserve columnto the depleted dispensing column Another object of thisinvention is to provide in a device of the character described, areserve chute to hold a reserve column of articles, a spring tensionedmember tending to'push said chute into the dispensing space, releasablemeans to retain said spring actuated member from pushing said chute intosaid space, and means controlled by the extent of depletion of articlesfrom the dispensing column, to release said member and permit the sameto push said chute into said space, the construction being suchfurther-- more that the entire chute is bodily shifted into said.dispensing space when said member is released.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a device of thecharacter described which may be easily adapted for dispensing eitherpackages of regular size cigarettes or packages of king size cigarettes.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a compact anddurable device of the character described, which shall be relativelyinexpensive to manufacture, easy to assemble, sure and positive inoperation, easy to service, and which shall yet be practical andefficient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements,

and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the constructionhereinafter described, and the scope of the application thereof will beindicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown various possibleillustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is an elevational cross-sectional view of a device embodying theinvention showing the same arranged to dispense packages of king sizecigarettes;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the reserve chute in thedispensing space and with the retaining mechanism removed;

Fig. 3 isa cross-sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the lower portion of thedevice, corresponding to Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is an elevational cross-sectional view of a portion of the deviceshowing the position of the parts when the articles in the dispensingcolumns have been depleted below a predetermined point, so that when thenext article is dispensed,'the reserve column will be shifted to thedispensing column;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, but showing the position of theparts after the shift has taken place;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 but showing the position of the partswhen the next article is being dispensed;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on line ID--I0 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on line IIIIofFig.7;

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken on line IZ-IZ ofFig. 8;

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken on line I3I3 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the device converted todispense packages of regular size cigarettes; and

Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken on line I5-l5 of Fig- 14.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, I I] designates a deviceembodying the invention for dispensing articles. In the drawing, thedevice is shown as dispensing packages I I of king size cigarettes orpackages I2 (see Fig. 14) of regu lar size cigarettes, it beingunderstood however that said device may dispense suitable articles otherthan cigarette packages.

Device ID comprises an outer casing I4 having a rear Wall I5, a bottomwall I6, and side walls (not shown). Said casing may have a top wall anda removable front wall I I which may be removed to service the device.

In the bottom of the casing is a curved guide I8 for dispensingarticles. The front wall has an opening I9 through which the dispensedarticles are removed by the customer. Within the casing is a horizontalwall 20 having an upturned flange 2| at its front end, and a downturnedflange 22 at its rear end spaced from the rear wall of the casing. Wall26 has formed therein a plurality of parallel slots 23 running fromfront to rear and flange 2| is formed with slots 24 therein aligned withslots 23.

Attached to wall 28 is a sheet metal casing member 25 (Fig. 6) having avertical wall 26 contacting flange 22, an inclined wall 2'? inclineddownwardly and forwardly therefrom, and a horizontal wall 28 spacedabove the bottom wall 16. A vertical wall 29 contacts flange 2| and theforward flanged end 38 of horizontal wall 28.

. be made of stamped sheet metal.

Wall 29 has slots 26a therein registering with slots 24 and the frontwall ll has slotslla therein registering with slots 24, 29a.

Between member 25 and wall|=6 is a dispensing chamber 32 defined by saidmember and the curved guide l8. Member 25 together with walls 28 and 26form a chamber 33. At the ends of said chamber 33 are side walls 34.Supported by said side walls 34 is a horizontal shaft 35. On shaft 35are a pair of parallel radial arm 36 interconnected at their outer endsby a horizontal rod 31. Arms 86 are rotatable about the axis of shaft35. Any suitable means may be provided to prevent rotation of arms 36unless predetermined coins are inserted inta the machine.

Slidably mounted on wall 28, in alignment with each slot 23, is anarticle pusher 40. Each pusher 48 comprises a block-like portion 4|contacting the top of wall 28, and a bar 42 extending forwardlytherefrom projecting through slots 24, 29a, l'la. Bar 42 is formedwith ahook 43 at its forward end adapted to be engaged by a customer forpulling the pusher when the proper coins are inserted into the machine.Extending downwardly from portion 4!, and slidable in slot 23, is a hook44 engaging rod 37. Thus, a coin release mechanism (not shown) may beemployed with the shaft 35 to prevent the actuation of the pusher baruntil proper coins have been received by said release mechanism. Anysuitable spring may be provided to return arms 36 and hence bar 48 whensaid'bar is released after having been pulled.

Within the casing are a plurality of vertical, parallel chutes disposed'side by side formed by members 46 (Fig. 5) which rest 'on' horizontalwall 28. Each member 46 has parallel walls 41, 41a and aninterconnecting rear wall 48. Said rear wall contacts rear wall of thecasing. Extending inwardly toward each other from the front ends of sidewalls '41, 41a are flanges 49 formed with forwardly extending lips 5|).Each wall 41a is formed with a segmental shaped cutout 5| (Fig. 2)having its apex 52 at the rear wall 48. Said cut-out extends from saidrear wall to a radial edge 53 inclined downwardly and forwardly fromapex 52. Said cut-out also has an arcual edge 54. The purpose of thecut-out 5| will be explained hereinafter.

Side walls 41a of said chute members 45 each have smaller notches 56, 51in their upper edges, forming a projection 56 therebetween. The frontpart of each member 46 constitutes a chute or chamber 59 for a column 60of packages to be dispensed. Column 68 rests on portion 4| of bar 48.Any number of chute members may be provided and each is centeredrelative to one of the pusher bars 48. The rear portion of each member46 forms a chute or chamber 62 for a reserve column 63 of articles to bedispensed.

Suspended in each chute 62 is a shiftable chute 4 Member 64 comprises awall 65 adjacent wall 41a, a wall 66 at right angles to the wall 65 andspaced adjacent wall 48, and another wall or flange 61 disposed betweenchambers 62, 59. Side wall 65 of each member 64 has at itsupper end aturned downhook portion 68 disposed within notch 56, so that said memberis suspended and hangs in vertical position.

Means are provided to support the column 63 within chute member 64. Tothis end, there is fastened to the inner surfaces of walls 4?, 41a, asupporting member 18. Said member 18 may It has a top wall H, a frontwall 12 and a rear wall "(3 (Figs. 8, 9 and 13 Extending from said wallsare side flanges Ha, 12a, 13a, respectively, which contact said walls41, 41a. Flanges 12a have formed at their lower ends aperturedhorizontal ears 12b for a purpose hereinafter appearing (Fig. 9). Saidwalls 41, 41a are each provided with a pair of horizontally alignedfront and rear holes 14, i5, and with a hole 16 below hole I4 offsetforwardly with respect thereto (Fig. 9). Flanges Ha, 120, are providedwith corresponding holes to receive screws T! or other fastening devicesfor fastening said member 18 to said walls 41, 41a (Fig. 2). With thesupporting member T8 in the position shown in Fig. 6, the machine isadapted to dispense larger articles such as packages of king sizecigarettes. Said supporting member 10 may be attached to said walls in aforwardly shifted position to adapt the machine for dispensing regularsized cigarettes as will be more fully explained hereinafter. To thisend, said walls 41, 4111 are formed with additional holes 14a, 15a, 16a,horizontally aligned with the holes "I4, l5, 16, respectively andequally spaced therefrom (Fig.2). When it is desired to support member18 in a forward position, the screws 11 are threaded through the holes14a, 15a, 76a, instead of through the holes 14, 15, 16.

The upper edge 80 of front wall 12 is disposed below top wall 1|. Topwall II has a front edge 8| disposed rearwardly of front wall 12, and arear edge 82 disposed forwardly of rear wall 13. The upper edge 83 ofrear wall 13 is disposed below top wall 1| (Fig. 6). Front wall 12 ofsupport '10 is substantially aligned with flange 61 of chute member 64.The reserve column 63 of articles to be dispensed rest upon top wall 1|of the supportin member. It will be understood that there is one support18 for each reserve column. The lower ends of chute members 64 are justabove said top walls.

Means are provided to shift chute members 64 together with the reservecolumns 63 forwardly into dispensing chambers 59. To this end, there isfixed to the inner surface of each rear wall 48, a horizontal stop bar85 (Figs. 2 and 14). Mounted for rotation on each Wall 41a is a member86 for shifting chute member 64. Said member 86 comprises a back wall 81normally contacting the inner surface of wall 48, The upper edge 87a ofwall 81 contacts the under edge of stop bar 85. Wall 81 passes throughslot 5|, and extending therefrom at right angles, is a wall 88, disposedparallel to wall 47a. and located between a pair of adjacent chutemembers 46. Wall 88 has an arm 89 extending in its plane to a pointforwardly of flanges or walls 49. Each arm 89 is connected by a coiltension spring 98 to a bracket 9| fixed to wall 41a at a point abovesaid arm. Spring 90 tends to rotate member 86 in a counterclockwisedirection, looking at Fig. 2, through the angle of slot 5|. During suchrotation, member; 86 pivots about edge 81a of its wall 81. Theforwardmost point of slot 5| is located between the reserve anddispensing chambers. When member 86 is thus rotated by spring 90, thelowermost edge of the wall 81 of member 86 contacts the back wall 66 ofthe chute member 64 and causes the latter to swing on its suspendinghooks 68 from its normal vertical position in the reserve chamber 62toward the dispensing chamber 59. In this movement theforward edges ofthe hook 68 adjacent the projections 58 are raised from the supportingnotches 56 until said hooks clear said projections at which time thehooks, by the force exerted by the sprin 90 through member 96, arecaused to slide forwardly across the projections 58 (Fig. 2) and dropinto the forward notches 51, thus carrying the entire chute member 64into the dispensing chamber 59.

7 Upon release of member 86 the spring 90 exerting an upward pull on arm89 causes a forward and upward push adjacent the lower end of member 64which first causes a tilting movement of member Ed in a counterclockwisedirection about substantially its upper left corner, looking at Fig. 14.When member 64 has been sufliciently tilted to clear finger 58, theimpetus of the spring 90 pushing in an upward and forward move- .ment onmember 94 will cause the whole member to jump over the finger 58 to aposition where the hook 68 enters the notch 51. The pressure of thelower end of wall 8! against the back wall of member 64 is in a forwardand upward direction. Furthermore, the lower edge of back wall 81 slidesupwardly relative to the back wall of member 64, as member 89 pivotsabout the pivotal point 52. Under theimpetus of the sprin 90 such actionis efiective to cause member 64 to jump into the forward position of thechute as soon as the lip 68 clears the finger 58.

Means are provided to retain chute member 64 from being so shifted untilthe dispensing column is depleted to a point below the upper edge 80 offront wall I2, which is of course also below top wall II of saidsupport. To this end, wall 81 projects, as at 811) (Fig. 7), below wall'II. Releasable means is provided to engage said end 8'Ib to retainmember 86 against rotation by said .spring 90. Said releasable meansincludes a lever 93 comprising a top wall 94, and parallel side flanges95 extending downwardly V therefrom. Said flanges are formed withoutwardly projecting flanges 96 disposed below said top wall. Lever 93is pivoted to the support I below the top wall -'II by means of ahorizontal pivot shaft 91 (Figs. 7 and 8) received in suitable openingsin flanges IIa. The forward edge 94a of top wall 94 engages edge 8Ib toretain the wall 81 of member 86 against wall 48. Flanges or side walls95 are formed at their forward ends with apertured ears 95a, for thepurpose hereinafter appearing. Interconnecting ears 95a with ears 12bare coil tension springs 91 which serve to tend to rotate the lever 93in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 7 and 9, to retain saidlever in engagement with member 86.

Attached to the inner surface of wall I3 is a bracket I00 formed withapertured ears IOI supporting a transverse shaft I02 (Figs. 9 and 13)Rotatably mounted on said shaft I02 is a bell crank I03. Said bell crankcomprises arms I04 engaging the upper surfaces of flanges 96 of member93, and arms I interconnected by wall I05 (Fig. 9).

FIanges Ila Support a horizontal pivot shaft I01 locatedat the upper endof flanges 12a and hence also above edge 80. Pivotally mounted on saidshaft I0! is a channel shaped member I08 having a web I09 contactingwall I2 and flanges H0 at right'angles thereto. Member I08 is swung in aclockwise direction when an article is dispensed from the dispensingcolumn. Said member I08 projects below wall 12 to a point below theupper surface of pusher bar 40 so as to be contacted by the articlespushed out of the dispensing column as shown in Fig. 9.

Also pivoted on shaft I0! is a lever I I2, provided with an arm II3 ofchannel shape and an arm H4 at an angle normally disposed thereto withinthe cut-out in wall I2 above its edge 80 and in engagement with thearticles in the dispensing column as shown in Figs. 8 and 9'. Arm H3 isretained in downwardly and. rearwardly inclined position when arm II4engages said articles. Arm II3 has flanges HM and an extendin yoke II3bconnected by light coil tension springs I I5 with ears 12b.

Pivoted to flanges II3a of arm II3 is a trigger I I6 (Figs. 7 and 8).Said flanges support a pivot shaft II8 on which said trigger is pivoted.Said trigger III; has a top wall H9 and side flanges I20, the latterbeing apertured to receive said shaft H8. The lower edges of saidflanges ride on wall I06 of member I03. Said flanges have rear endshoulders I2 I When there are articles in the dispensing column abovearm II4, movement of member I08 due to ejection of articles from saidcolumn does not trip the bell crank I03 because said member I08 may movewithout moving member H2, and for the further reason that movement ofthe latter would not affect the bell crank inasmuch as the trigger IIGwould only ride on wall I06.

However, when articles in the dispensing column are depleted to'a levelbelow arm II4, lever II2 will swing, because of the tension of springH5, in a counterclockwise direction to the position shown in Fig. 7.

When the lever II 2 swings to the position of Fig. '7, trigger H6 ispulled forwardly and drops down so that wall II9 rests on wall I05, andshoulders I 2I of flanges I20 engage the forward edge of said wall I06.When the bar 40 is thereafter pulled forward and released it will moverearwardly and the block M will eject'a package of cigarettes in themanner shown in Fig. 9. The package being ejected swings lever I08 whichin turn swings lever H2 and the trigger H5 swings the bell crank in aclockwise direction to depress lever 93 and release member 86 to permitrotation thereof to shift the chute member 64 in the manner abovedescribed and thus move the reserve column to the top of the depleteddispensing column. The newly moved packages then engage arm II4 andagain swing lever I I2 in a clockwise direction to the position of Fig.8 and the trigger again rides up on wall I06 as illustrated in Fig. 8.

The next time an article is dispensed, lever I08 will again be swung asshown in Fig. 9.

In Figs.l4 and 15 the device embodying the invention is shown convertedfor dispensing articles of smaller size, for example the packages I2 ofregular sized cigarettes. As shown in said figures, the supports I0 havebeen shifted forwardly and attached in place as described hereinabove.The brackets and levers mounted thereon, as described above, are notchanged.

Member 86, under the influence of spring 90, will pivot to swing therear chute 64 to the in-.

clinedposition shown in Fig. .14, and in such position the lower end8112 of rear wall 81 of said member will engage the rear end of lever 93to retain said member from shifting the chute 64 to the front ordispensing chamber. The upper end of the chute 64, while being at aslight angle, will still be engaged within notch 56.

A spacer member I25 may be attached to the inner side of the rear wall66 of the chute 64 to adapt said chute for use with packages of regularsized cigarettes. Said spacer member has a rear web I26 which may beattached to Wall 66 by means of screws or rivets I21. Extendingforwardly from web I26 are parallel walls I28 from which there extendoutwardly parallel, aligned flanges or wings I29. Regular sizecigarettes may be placed within the chutes 64 between the spacer I25 andflange 81 and in the dispensing chamber between flange 6i and flanges49. At the upper end of said dispensing chamber, the cigarettes may bepushed slightly backward because of the tilt of chute 64. However, whenthe lever 93 is tripped, member 86 will move the entire rear chute 64into the dispensing chamber and thus cause the transfer of the reservecolumn of cigarettes into the dispensing chamber in the mannerhereinbefore described.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which theseveral objects of this invention are achieved, and which is welladapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. In a dispensing device, a chute comprising a pair of parallelvertical walls interconnected by a rear wall, a rear chute within saidfirst chute and suspended from one of said parallel walls and located atthe rear of said first chute, one of said parallel walls being formedwith a slot, means to swing said rear chute to the front part of thefirst chute, and including a member having a wall disposed between therear chute and the rear wall of the first chute and pivoted to thelatter at its upper end, said wall of said member passing through saidslot, and said member having an arm disposed outside of said first chuteand parallel thereto, and spring means connected to said arm and adaptedto swing said member about its pivot.

2. In a dispensing device, a chute comprising a pair of parallelvertical walls interconnected by a rear wall, a rear chute within saidfirst chute and suspended from one of said parallel walls and located atthe rear of said first chute, one of said parallel walls being formedwith a slot, means to swing said rearchute to the front part of thefirst chute, and including a member having a wall disposed between therear chute andthe rear wall of the first chute and pivoted to the latterat its upper end, said wall of said member passing through said slot,and said member having an arm disposed outside of said first chute andparallel thereto, spring means connected to said arm and adapted toswing said member about its pivot, and releasable means engaging saidmember to prevent pivotal movement thereof.

3. In a dispensing device, a chute comprising .a pair of parallelvertical walls interconnected by a rear wall, a rear chute within saidfirst chute and suspended from one of said parallel walls and located atthe rear of said first chute, one of said parallel walls being formedwith a slot, means to swing said rear chute to the front part of thefirst chute, and including a member having a wall disposed between therear chute and the rear wall of the first chute and pivoted to thelatter at its upper end, said wall of said member passing through saidslot, and said member having an arm disposed outside of said first chuteand parallel thereto, spring means connected to said arm and adapted toswing said member about its pivot, releasable means engaging said memberto prevent pivotal movement thereof, and means effective upon dispensingarticles from the front of said first chute to release said releasablemeans to permit said member to shift said rear chute to the front partof said first chute.

4. In a dispensing machine, a chamber for articles to be dispensed, apivoted member having a tongue projecting into said chamber, articleswithin said chamber being adapted to engage said tongue, said pivotedmember including an arm located outside of said chamber, a reserve chutelocated adjacent said chamber, means to shift said reserve chute intosaid chamber, releasable means to retain said shifting means fromshifting said reserve chute into said chamber, means on said arm of saidpivoted member to release said retaining means, but being inoperative torelease said retaining means when articles in the chamber engage saidtongue, means to dispense articles from the lower end of said chamber,means movable each time an article is dispensed from said chamber, saidarm of said pivoted member being out of the way of said movable meanswhen articles in the chamber engage said tongue, said pivoted memberbeing swingable, when the remaining articles in said chamber are belowsaid tongue, to a position where dispensing of an article from saidchamber will cause the movable means to move said arm of said pivotedmember, and said releasing means being effective to release saidretaining means when said pivoted member is moved by said movable means.

5. In a dispensing device, a front chamber for articles to be dispensed,a reserve chute adjacent said chamber and adapted to contain reservearticles, means to shift said reserve chute into said chamber,releasable means to retain said shifting means from shifting saidreserve chute into said chamber, means to release said retaining means,means arranged to operatively engage said releasing means only when thearticles in said chamber are below a predetermined height, means toeject articles from the lower end of said chamber, and a member moved byeach article in the ejection thereof from said chamber to actuate saidreleasing means to release said retaining means when articles in saidchamber are below said predetermined height,

but being ineffective to actuate said releasing means when articles insaid chamber are above said predetermined height.

6. In a dispensing device, a chute comprising a pair of parallel wallsinterconnected by a rear web, one of said walls being formed with aplurality of spaced notches in its upper end, a rear chute within saidfirst chute, said rear chute having a wall adjacent said notched wall, afiange extending therefrom parallel to and adjacent said web, a secondflange parallel to and spaced from the first flange, a projection on theupper end of said rear chute, said projection being received by one ofsaid notchesjor supporting said rear chute, a wall of said first chutebeing formed with a segmental slot, means to transfersaid projectionfrom one of said notches to another and thus change the position inwhich said rear chute is supported, said means comprising a memberhaving a wall disposed between said web and the first flange of saidrear chute and being pivoted at its upper end to said web, said wall ofsaid member extending through said segmental slot, the apex of said slotbeing adjacent the upper end of said wall of said member, said memberhaving an arm extending at right angles to its wall and located parallelto a wall of said first chute and exteriorly of said chute, spring meansto rotate said member about its pivot, means to engage the lower end ofsaid wall of said member to retain said member against pivotal movement,means to dispense articles disposed within the front of said chute,means controlled by operation of said dispensing means for releasingsaid retaining means, and means controlled by presence of articleswithin the front of said chamber above a predetermined height therein torender said releasing means inoperative.

7. In a dispensing device, a chamber adapted to contain articles to bedispensed, a reserve chute adapted to contain reserve articles andlocated adjacent said chamber, spring controlled means adapted to shiftthe reserve chute into said chamber, a lever engaging said springcontrolled means to retain said means in inoperative position, a pivotedbell crank having one arm in engagement with said lever, a pivot memberhaving a. tongue projecting into said chamber and adapted to be engagedby articles within said chamber above a predetermined height, saidpivoted member having an arm disposed outside of said chamber, a triggerpivoted to said last-mentioned arm and resting on another arm of saidbell crank, means to dispense the lowermost article in said chamber, apivoted depending member having a portion located in the path ofarticles dispensed from the main chamber and adapted to be swungthereby, engagement of articles in said chamber with said tongue beingeffective to retain the arm of said pivoted member out of engagementwith respect to said depending member as the latter is swung by articlesdispensed from said chamber, said pivoted member being adapted to swing,when the remaining articles in said chamber are below said tongue, to aposition where the arm of said pivoted member swings against saiddepending member, and said trigger having a shoulder adapted to engagesaid other arm of said bell crank when the pivoted member is in thelastmentioned position thereof, whereby upon dispensing the next articlefrom said chamber, said depending member is swung and also swings saidpivoted member to cause said shoulder on the trigger to rotate said bellcrank for turning said lever and thereby releasing said springcontrolled means to permit the latter to shift the chute into saidchamber.

8. In a dispensing device, a chamber adapted to contain articles to bedispensed, a reserve chute adapted to contain reserve articles andlocated adjacent said chamber, spring controlled means adapted to shiftthe reserve chute into said chamber, a lever engaging said springcontrolled means to retain said means in inoperative position, a pivotedbell crank having one arm in engagement with said lever, a pivot memberhaving a tongue projecting into said chamber and adapted to be engagedby articles within said chamber above a predetermined height, saidpivoted member having an arm disposed outside of said chamber, a triggerpivoted to said last-mentioned arm and resting on another arm of saidbell crank, means to dispense the lowermost article in said chamber, apivoted depending member having a portion located in the path ofarticles dispensed from the main chamber and adapted to be swungthereby, engagement of articles in said chamber with said tongue beingeffective to retain the arm of said pivoted member out of engagementwith respect to said depending member as the latter is swung by articlesdispensed from said chamber, said pivoted member being adapted to swing,when the remaining articles in said chamber are below said tongue, to aposition where the arm of said pivoted member swings against saiddepending member, and said trigger having a shoulder adapted t engagesaid other arm of said bell crank when the pivoted member is in thelastmentioned position thereof, whereby upon dispensing the next articlefrom said chamber, said depending member is swung and also swings saidpivoted member to cause said shoulder on the trigger to rotate said bellcrank -for turning said lever and thereby releasing said springcontrolled means to permit the latter to shift the chute into saidchamber, a bracket on which said lever, bell crank, pivoted member, anddepending member are mounted, and means to attach said bracket withinsaid device in a plurality of positions whereby to permit dispensing ofarticles of various sizes.

9. In a dispensing machine, a chamber for articles to be dispensed, apivoted member having a tongue projecting into said chamber, articleswithin said chamber being adapted to engage said tongue, said pivotedmember including an arm located outside of said chamber, a reserve chutelocated adjacent said chamber, means to shift said reserve chute intosaid chamber, releasable means to retain said shifting means fromshifting said reserve chute into said chamber, means on said arm of saidpivoted member to release said retaining means, but being inoperative torelease said retaining means when articles in the chamber engage saidtongue, means to dispense articles from the lower end of said chamber,means movable each time an article is dispensed from said chamber, saidarm of said pivoted member being out of the way of said movable meanswhen articles in the chamber engage said tongue, said pivoted memberbeing swingable, when the remaining articles in said. chamber are belowsaid tongue, to a po-' sition where dispensing of an article from saidchamber will cause the movable means to move said arm of said pivotedmember, and said releasing means being effective to release saidretaining means when said pivoted member is moved by said movable means,a bracket, said retaining means, releasing means and pivoted memberbeing mounted on said bracket, and

-means to fix said bracket in said machine in a plurality of positions.

10. A dispensing device comprising, a chute having a front portiontherein within which articles to be dispensed may be stacked one uponanother, a horizontally movable inner chute suspended within said firstchute in a rear portion thereoi for containing a reserve supply of said11 articles, said first-mentioned chute having spaced notches thereinand said inner chute having a suspending hook adapted to be received by'one or the other of said notches, an ejecting mechanism for dispensingthe articles from said front portion, a pivoted member disposed betweensaid first chute and said inner chute, means for pivoting said memberagainst said inner chute to bodily move the latter forwardly and todisengage said hook from one of said notches and cause it to move intothe other thereof, and a latch normally held in retaining engagementwith said member by the articles in the front portion of saidfirst-mentioned chute and being movable to disengage said member whenthe level of articles in said front portion has been reduced to apredetermined. level whereupon said member will be iiivote'd as"aforesaid to move said inner chute and the c'oiitents'thereof into saidfront portion. I

. I LOUIS STEINER.

I REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,389,109. rtichardson Nov. 29, 19322,197,633 DuGrenier Apr. 16, 1940 2254,1341 Gabril'sen Sept. 2, 1941

